Omar Anderson, Appellant v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas affirmed the lower court's judgment, holding that evidence of the appellant's gang membership and the gang's illegal activities was admissible at the punishment phase as relevant character evidence and not barred by the First Amendment. The majority reasoned that Article 37.07 and Rule 404(c) permit such evidence, and any prejudice was harmless. A dissent argued that the evidence failed the Lemon test and was unfairly prejudicial. The decision thus upholds the conviction and sentence.